The Squib and the Werewolf

20. Winter Thrills

After Sirius had showed Raya his scars, the pair became a lot closer, which made it even harder for them to act like they were just friends, when around other people.
Although Raya didn't want everyone knowing about her personal life, she knew that she couldn't keep her relationship with Sirius a secret forever.
"I was thinking" announced James one evening, while the Marauders were all hanging about in their dormitory, trying to do homework.
"You thinking, now I'm really getting worried" teased Raya.
Sirius winked at her, and she tried her best not to blush.

"Haha. Anyway, I was thinking that instead of going home for Christmas this year, we stayed at Hogwarts" suggested James.
"But then we won't get to see our parents" Peter said quietly.
"Sounds like a bonus to me" grinned Sirius.
"Yes, but some of us do have parents that we want to see" reminded Remus.
"It's only for a couple of weeks, and we would be at James's house basically every day if we did go home. So, I don't think we will really miss our parents, as we will see them in the summer" replied Raya.

"I know my house is like the hub for our group, but I was thinking that we'd have much more fun here, as it's so much bigger than my house, and we can do magic here" admitted James.
"You know that I would follow you anywhere Prongs. I don't care if we stay here or go back to yours, as long as it keeps me away from my house" replied Sirius.
"Cool. Just think about how much fun we will get up to with no other students around. We will have the whole castle to ourselves" smiled James.

"Some students do stay here for Christmas" reminded Remus.
"Yeah, but only like a dozen. Which means that we can do whatever we like. Please say that you'll stay, because it won't be the same without you and Raya" begged James.
Remus sighed, "Alright, I guess mum and dad won't be too upset if we stay at Hogwarts, especially if I tell them I'm staying so I can revise for my OWLs".
"Great. Glad you have decided to join us" grinned James.

"Peter, you'll stay, won't you?" Asked Raya.
"I do like going home. But if you guys are all staying here, then I suppose I had better stay too. I don't want to be the odd one out" answered Peter.
James fist punched the air, "Yes! We are going to have so much fun this Christmas".
"Snivellus normally stays at Hogwarts during the holidays, since he's not wanted at home" revealed Sirius.
"Nice, that means we can have fun torturing him, with less witnesses. Lily always goes home, so she won't see us bullying her Slytherin friend" replied James.

"Maybe if he sees our names on the list of students staying for Christmas, he will decide to go home, so that we can't pick on him" said Remus hopefully.
"It would be better if he did go home, because then he wouldn't get in the way and snoop on us, hoping to catch us breaking the rules" added Raya.
"He is really the worst. Just because no one likes him, it doesn't mean that he has to make our lives miserable" groaned Sirius.
"I know right, the guy's a freak. And anyone who is that obssessed with the dark arts is bound to end up becoming a death eater" said James through gritted teeth.

"You shouldn't say things like that" scolded Raya.
"It's true though. Most of those Slytherins he associates himself with, will all end joining Voldemort, because they are all evil and twisted" reminded James.
"He's got a point, Raya. The slimy git does like to hang around my cousin outside of school, and we all know who she worships" sighed Sirius.
"I'm sorry about her" Raya said softly.
"Don't be. Bellatrix has always been like that, which is why the two of us were never close. I've always known that my family is messed up. There's not many of us that are strong enough to rebel. My cousin Andromeda was like me, and they disowned her for marrying a Muggle-born. I haven't heard from her since... I wish my family was normal" mumbled Sirius.

"We are your family now" reminded James.
"Yes, you have us, you don't need them" agreed Raya.
"Thanks guys. I just wish Regulus hadn't followed the same path as the rest of my family. I wish he had been like me" admitted Sirius.
"He plays the good son, so that you don't have to. He has become the perfect Black heir, so that you can escape your family's wrath. I don't think your parents would have allowed you to slip away so easily, if they didn't have another son to take over your responsibilities. Which is why Regulus can't escape his fate, like you did" replied Raya.
"When did you get so wise?" Questioned James.
"I've always been this smart, you just fail to notice" informed Raya.

"I never really looked at what Regulus has done, in that way before. But I suppose you have a point. I always thought he was weak, which is why he did as he was told. But now I see that maybe he follows the rules, so that I don't have to. My parents view me as a lost cause, so they devote all of their time on him. But without him, they would definitely be a lot stricter on me. And I probably wouldn't be able to see you guys outside of school. So, I guess I owe my little brother a lot. I always thought I was protecting him by being the bad son, but he has been protecting me too, without me realising" admitted Sirius.
Raya leaned over to him and squeezed his hand.
"You are not bad Sirius. And if you hadn't been so rebellious, your parents would have been harder on Regulus. So, you were protecting him" replied Raya.

"I'm glad that I have you all supporting me" smiled Sirius.
"We are more than just friends, mate, we are a family" reminded James.
"Yes, we are. And families shouldn't have any secrets..." Sirius faltered and looked over at Raya.
Without him saying any words, Raya knew exactly what he intended to do.
If she had wanted, she could have stopped him. But instead, Raya decided to just let him talk, to put an end to the lies and secrets.

"Me and Raya have something to tell you... We are dating!" Announced Sirius.
The rest of the boys jaws dropped in shock.
"How long has this been going on for?" Questioned James.
"A month or two" answered Sirius.
"And we are only learning about this now" frowned James.
"We didn't want to ruin the dynamics of our friendship group, which is why we didn't say anything. We also wanted to make sure that we worked well together as girlfriend and boyfriend, before telling you guys".

"I was was worried about how you would all react" admitted Raya quietly, who was concerned that her brother hadn't said anything yet.
"Why were you scared of telling us? You knew we'd be supportive of you two, right?" Asked James.
"I wasn't sure that you'd want your two best friends dating" replied Raya.
"Sure, I view you two as my siblings, so the idea of you dating is a little weird. But I'll get over it. As long as you are happy, I'm cool with whoever you decide to date"
"Thanks James".

"Just try not to have a bad break up, because that will make things awkward for us" admitted Peter.
"We'll try our best to avoid that, Wormy" laughed Sirius.
Raya didn't smile, instead she looked over at Remus.
"Remy? Are you O.K? Why haven't you said anything?" Questioned Raya.
"I'm fine. I'm just thinking... I wish you had told me about this sooner, and not gone behind my back" answered Remus.
"We were worried about how you'd react. I didn't want you to be angry" admitted Raya.

"I'm sorry I made you feel nervous about telling me" apologised Remus.
"That's alright. You're my big brother, and I know how much you like to protect me. Which is why I wasn't sure how you'd react to learning that I was dating Sirius" replied Raya.
"It's like James said, as long as you are happy, I'm fine with whoever you go out with" sighed Remus.
He then turned to Sirius, with a stern look on his face.
"Just because you are my best friend, it won't stop me from destroying you, if you hurt my sister" continued Remus.
"You have my word that I will never do anything to hurt Raya" promised Sirius.
"Good... And if you could also keep the snogging to a minimum when I'm around, then that would be great".
Sirius grinned, "No promises".